Many possibilities in pages of MacKay's new book

While Elly MacKay's latest book Waltz of the Snowflakes tells a story, it is really up to the reader to put it into words.

The Owen Sound author and illustrator, who has been involved in close to 10 books, has for the first time completed a wordless picture book, which was recently released by Running Press Kids. A launch of the book will be held Saturday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library.

“I think when you are looking at a wordless book it might seem at first more intimidating to approach because we as adults are used to just starting to read,” MacKay said Monday. “Instead you have to ask questions to your kids about what you are seeing, but it allows for lots of possibilities.”

MacKay said when she reads the book to her son Koen, 6, he enjoys trying to make the facial expressions of the people in the book, while her daughter Lily, 9, remembers going to see The Nutcracker on stage so she connects the book to her own experiences.

“It is just a different approach to reading,” said MacKay. “I love that kids can create their own words when reading it.”

Waltz of the Snowflakes tells the story of a girl who receives tickets to the ballet from her grandmother, but is reluctant to go.

“She is not too keen to go out in the cold and wet and everything feels like it is going wrong,” said MacKay. “She is intimidated by the big building and she ends up having to sit next to a boy that had been teasing her.”

But through a shared connection of watching the performance they build a friendship. The girl enjoys the performance, and the rain that was falling turns to snow.

“She ends up seeing the world in a more beautiful way,” MacKay said.

MacKay's work involves creating scenes using different types of papers, putting them together in a miniature theatre and photographing them. She creates different effects by adjusting lighting and switching paper colours and camera filters.

Her past books include Butterfly Park, Shadow Chasers and If You Hold a Seed.

MacKay, who also does prints and book covers, has seen her work become popular around the world. She recently received the 2017 South Asia Book Award for Maya, which she illustrated. More of her work can be found at www.ellymackay.com.

When she was thinking of story ideas for a book, MacKay said doing one based on The Nutcracker was an idea that “just kind of popped out.”

I used to go to performances, not just ballets, but our parents would take us to Stratford every year,” said MacKay. “It was always a special part of the year, getting ready to go to one of these performances.”

She was playing with the idea of parallel stories, so she got to thinking about telling the story from what was happening in the audience, versus what was happening on stage. And she chose a grandmother and her granddaughter as the lead subjects because it is such an important relationship in her own life.

“My mom is a big part of my kids' lives. She is at my house every day,” said MacKay. “My next book that is coming out is a generational story too. It is about a grandfather and his grandchildren.”

MacKay has already completed that book, called Red Sky at Night, which comes out in the spring. That book includes old weather sayings that are sequenced to tell a story, but the pictures still need to be used to tell the narrative. She is also working on another book that takes place at Inglis Falls about fairies called The Tallest Treehouse.

MacKay had fun with Waltz of the Snowflakes. She hid her parents, her husband Simon, their children and other family members in its pages.

“We all went to see The Nutcracker together just to refresh myself about The Nutcracker because I hadn't been there since I was a kid,” said MacKay. “We all went down to Toronto and watched Karen Kain's Nutcracker.”

In Waltz of the Snowflakes, MacKay's work has evolved in that, because the book is wordless, she uses expression more to tell the story.

“In the early parts of the book I can show a lot of what is happening through body gestures,” said MacKay. “Later in the book they are sitting so everything has to be shown through their facial expressions.

“It was a really fun, new way to kind of push myself to just explore facial expressions and how you can tell a story through emotion. It was a fun challenge.”

MacKay also limited the colour palette to differentiate the world of the grandmother and granddaughter from the world of the Nutcracker performance.

“I have been thinking too about colour and how colour works to convey emotion,” said MacKay. “That was also a new challenge.”

Saturday's launch at the Owen Sound library is to include some young ballerinas from Dancemakers, poet laureate Lauren Best as well as childrens' crafts. Hot chocolate and candy canes will be served.

MacKay will be on hand to sign copies of her book, which will be available to purchase. She also plans to bring her miniature theatre to show the process that goes into creating her work.